Obama will nuke Iran if Israel nuked, official says
John Byrne
Thursday December 11, 2008
Clinton also seen backing 'nuclear umbrella'President-elect Barack Obama intends to offer Israel a "nuclear umbrella" in the event of a nuclear strike by Iran, according to a defense source close to the administration quoted by an Israeli newspaper.
Under such an agreement, the United States would promise to use nuclear weapons against Iran should Israel be atomically attacked. Obama's secretary of State, Sen. Hillary Clinton, promised a similar "massive response" should Israel come under attack during the Democratic presidential debates.
"The source, who is close to the new administration, said the US will declare that an attack on Israel by Tehran would result in a devastating U.S. nuclear response against Iran," the paper Ha'aretz said Thursday.
The source quoted also said that the nuclear guarantee would be backed by a new and improved Israeli anti-ballistic missile defense system, which comes in addition to one the Bush administration helped deploy in the Negev. Both the ballistic defense system and the comments may suggest that the incoming Administration believes that a nuclear Iran is inevitable.
Soon-to-be Secretary of State Clinton has also proposed that the nuclear shield be extended to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states if they drop their nuclear ambitions. The United States is a massive supplier of weapons and defense technology to Saudi Arabia; the Bush administration recently signed a $20 billion, 10-year deal.
Obama has said he'd negotiate with Iran and offered economic aid if they agreed to drop their nuclear program. Such a move is unlikely, as Iran sees nuclear weapons as a key element in protecting their country against foreign attack and increasing their presence on the world stage.The paper quoted a "senior Bush administration official" as rebuking the nuclear guarantee.
"Who will convince the citizen in Kansas that the U.S. needs to get mixed up in a nuclear war because Haifa was bombed? And what is the point of an American response, after Israel's cities are destroyed in an Iranian nuclear strike?"
************************************
Mr. Obama,
Naive as you are sir, and foolish as your staff may be - who the heck thinks Israel wants your nuclear shield? Israel has approximately 200 nuclear weapons it will unleash on Iran should any Israeli city be attacked. What will you do - send a stern warning and threaten to blow up something - an abandoned city in the desert.
Israel was, within moments of you uttering this inane idea, mocking your shield. They need strong leadership to stop regimes from acquiring weapons. They do not need a missile shield. 'Oh look at US what we have done and offered. Aren't we gracious.' It is clear what you are sir, and the world that paid attention knows.
The best shield you could have done Obama, was to work to provent Iran from acquring a nuclear weapon - to provide the president with whatever authority he may have requested to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. You failed.
Save your shield for yourself Mr. Obama. You will need it.
Obama
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments